Foreign 'AI slopaganda' network deepfakes dozens of Australian politicians
After publishing: 1 headline quietly rewritten1 change
- afr.comseen 8 Oct, 07:35headline rewritten
Australian politicians warn against fake crypto-trading ads appearing on Donald Trump’s Truth SocialTrump’s Truth Social promotes scam ads targeting Australians
The headline, as it mutated - 3 wordings
- 8 Sept, 20:01Foreign 'AI slopaganda' network deepfakes dozens of Australian politicians1 outlet
- 27 Sept, 20:00Newsrooms unite to defend trusted journalism in AI age6 outlets
- 21 Oct, 04:25Police 'deeply concerned' about AI use in radical posts7 outlets
- and 9 one-off wordings
What it is about
Who published it, and when
7 reports left out of the cascade - too little in common with the story to place
How it spread - 12 original reports, 11 reprints
Tue, 8 September 2026
2 reports- ABC News (Australia)20:01
Dozens of Australian politicians have been deepfaked by a "foreign influence" network operating on Facebook, and researchers say there are many more just like it.
- abc.net.au21:10first to report
Dozens of Australian politicians have been targeted by a foreign network of Facebook pages spreading inflammatory AI deepfakes.
Wed, 9 September 2026
1 report- abc.net.au02:00
Follow the latest headlines from ABC News, Australia's most trusted media source, with live events, audio and on-demand video from the national broadcaster.
Wed, 16 September 2026
1 report- ABC News (Australia)19:15
An ABC NEWS Verify investigation has revealed exactly how a YouTube political commentator from overseas is using AI to pretend to be Australian and promote One Nation to thousands of people.
Wed, 23 September 2026
1 report- abc.net.au07:30
Have you ever been unsure if something in your feed was real or AI? Well, you’re not alone. We look into a FIFO influencer who has almost 85,000 followers... but she’s actually one of several generative AI accounts pushing their followers to paywalled AI adult content. And, we hear about US president Donald Trump’s threat towards Iran in his address at the United Nations General Assembly, and the reasons behind the high fuel prices we’re seeing around Australia. Plus, the AFL Grand Final is...
Thu, 24 September 2026
1 report- Google News - Top Stories18:06
Why Australia chose the world's biggest political stage to reveal OpenAI hack BBC Rogue AI agents hack government website, world leaders on edge of regulatory action Fox News OpenAI breach of Australian government linked to wider AI hacking campaign Financial Times OpenAI Agent Hacked Australian Government Website WSJ The next Hugging Face Politico
Sun, 27 September 2026
1 report- redlandcitybulletin.com.au20:00
Australian media academics warn readers will happily consume news from sources they do not trust as professional journalism...
5 reprints
- theleader.com.au27 Sept, 20:00their copy
- narrominenewsonline.com.au27 Sept, 20:00their copy
- camdencourier.com.au27 Sept, 20:00their copy
- naroomanewsonline.com.au27 Sept, 20:00their copy
- mandurahmail.com.au27 Sept, 20:00their copy
Mon, 5 October 2026
1 report- afr.com04:23edited after publishing
previously
Australian politicians warn against fake crypto-trading ads appearing on Donald Trump’s Truth Social
Thu, 8 October 2026
1 report- The Guardian World14:00
The inflammatory clip shows the wild west of online politicking created by unrestricted access to AI – and why watchdogs need more powers to do something about it Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast One Nation’s new AI-generated campaign video is a new low – even for them. The video – reportedly played at the party’s Victorian campaign launch over the weekend – is an AI-generated collection of racist tropes, depicting a man who appears to be African brandishing a...
Wed, 21 October 2026
2 reports- illawarramercury.com.au04:25
Artificial intelligence is rapidly radicalising kids online and potentially leading to an upsurge in political violence.
6 reprints
- braidwoodtimes.com.au21 Oct, 04:25their copy
- juneesoutherncross.com.au21 Oct, 04:25their copy
- theadvocate.com.au21 Oct, 04:25their copy
- northweststar.com.au21 Oct, 04:25their copy
- irrigator.com.au21 Oct, 04:25their copy
- nvi.com.au21 Oct, 04:25their copy
- The Guardian World05:18
Children as young as 12 among dozens subject to federal police operations since 2020, parliamentary inquiry hears Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Australia is facing a “tsunami” of youth crime as artificial intelligence accelerates the pace and scale of radicalisation, a parliamentary inquiry has heard. The Australian federal police acting deputy commissioner Sandra Booth told the hearing on Wednesday that, while radicalisation had traditionally taken years or...
Mon, 26 October 2026
1 report- ABC News (Australia)18:00
Labor MPs are turning to an AI tool to strip numerous abusive comments and threats from their pages, but they want social media companies to take responsibility.